National Security Implications of Deferred Infrastructure Maintenance

An article from Lawfare highlights the scale of deferred maintenance of critical infrastructure in the U.S. – citing a 2019 report’s estimate that it could already exceed $1 trillion – and reviews the national security implications this challenge presents. The article uses the definition of a national security issue as  one that includes the protection of the country and its citizens from domestic and foreign threats. While acknowledging that most deferred infrastructure maintenance translates only into local problems, the article observes there are still serious national security ramifications, which it examines through reviews of “key infrastructure categories.” One of these categories is “Drinking Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater,” where the article identifies structural failures, overflows, blockades, and health risks as impacts that have resulted from deferred maintenance. It also discusses problems related to contaminated drinking water and inadequate stormwater systems that can exacerbate damage to infrastructure during flooding. As far as other infrastructure categories of potential interest to WaterISAC’s members, the article includes sections for dams and levees and energy. Read the article at Lawfare.